Letter to Marian and Frank, March 30, 1968

 Biels in 1968

My Aunt Marian kept many of the letters my mother, Donna Biel, wrote to her.  She returned them in 2010.  Most are recorded here.  They were not entered chronologically.  The best way to sort through them is to use the index on the sidebar and view them by year.


Dear Marian and Frank,

You soon will be getting a form letter from Ohio but I thought I would write you some things that aren't in that letter. 

While Cliff was at the conference in Londrina, the Children and I stayed in Campinas.  I helped two new families- one that came three days before the conference started.  They have a boy Charles's age and a girl Rachel's age, so they enjoyed playing with each other.  I helped enroll the boy in a Brazilian nursery school.  Rachel and Charles went for a week and thought it was fun.  The teacher speaks English as well as Portuguese.  Twice I took Joan Dahlen to an open market to buy fruits and vegetables, to a store to buy food and once downtown by bus to go shopping.  We did a lot of walking and got sunburned. 

Cliff was gone for six days.  When he came back, Helen just looked and looked at him, almost as if she had forgotten him.  The new houseparents, Aarsvolds, from Kassen, Minnesota, were at the conference, too.  We visited with them the evening before we left Campinas.  They are adjusting very well.

We didn't have any difficulty coming through customs.  The day we landed was the biggest day of Carnaval.  None of our suitcases were opened.  We are missing our cartridge tape recorder and Japanese camera that we had in a briefcase on the plane.  We couldn't lock the briefcase and should have taken these things out of it and taken them to our seat.  We wrote to the pastor in Brooklyn, New York, to see if we had left those things at his house and received an answer that we didn't leave them there.

From Campinas we had a two hour bus ride to Sao Paulo where we got a plane to Londrina which was a 3 hr. flight.  In Londrina, Cliff hired a truck to take the things we had stored there.  While in Londrina I visited two missionary families there.  The children and I were in Londrina for two days, then Cliff came back to get us and we went on a two hour bus ride to Maringa where we are living.

We got to our home on the 14th, late in the afternoon.  One day Cliff went to Loanda to get film strips, flannel-graph, and a projector that was there.  It was a three hour trip from here, one way.  We had been here ten days when he took off for Cianorte- two hours from here by jeep to teach for a week at the Bible School.  After the school was over, he went to Campo Mourao, 2 hours from here and will have two services today and two tomorrow before he comes here for an evening service.  He will be serving these other churches once a month for six months while the pastor is in Germany on furlough. 

Last night, I went to a baby shower for a teacher of the United Missioner Society.  There are five families living here from that mission.  A Southern Baptist couple who live four blocks from us and the American wife of a Brazilian doctor were at this party.  I had a nice time getting acquainted with these people.  They have a school for missionary children with about 25 students.  We hope Rachel will go there to first grade in September but we don't know yet if they will have first grade.  There are several first grade age children but they don't live in this city and sometimes parents teach them the first year through Calvert which I may have to do.

Letter ends here.

Letter to Marian and Frank, November 29, 1966

 Clifford Biel, Charles and Rachel

1966

My Aunt Marian kept many of the letters my mother, Donna Biel, wrote to her.  She returned them in 2010.  Most are recorded here. 

Dear Marian and Frank,

Baby Lisa

Well, Nels was right.  He said you would have a girl and waht a big one!  We were glad to hear that everything went well.  You certainly were fortunate to find enough money to get tot the hospital.  What an experience!  I like the name Lisa- one of the missionaries has a girl named Lisa.  I agree with you as to delivery without pain- so far, Rachel's was the easiest- I had Demerol.  In February, my sister, Olive, had had boy without pain but my deliveries have been too difficult to go without a hypo.


I hope you don't get discouraged and give up on breast feeding for when you give cereal and soon food, she will be content.  I am still breast feeding Helen.  Now she is a cheerful and smiling baby but in the first 2 months she had a lot of gas pains.  She still wakes up to be fed at night.  At 3 months, Helen weighed 15 lbs.  Since we don't have baby food, she doesn't get more than cereal- occasionally, with egg yolk in it, bananas, and sometimes carrots.  When she turned 3 months old she started turning from the back to her abdomen.  She likes to sit in the corner of the sofa chair.  When we talk to her she coos and coos.

You must have lost all of your weight gain since Lisa weighed 9 lbs.  Did Cynthia lose all of the weight she had gained?  She  wrote that the doctor said she is in good physical condition.  Hope they will have a baby soon.

We will find out in January when we will go on furlough.  I wrote that we could go home early but the earliest would be March and probably won't be until July.  We are anxious to see everyone.  When Louie and Rosie get married I hope that we can have a family picture taken to keep on our dresser.  Louie to be transferred about now.  To where will he go?

 Louie and Rosie's wedding photos, 

which did indeed, sit on my Mom's dresser for years.

This last week we spent in Paranavai where Joey helped with special services which had films.  The Olsen's go home when we do but they decided not to come back due to their adopted children.  Three have Indian blood.  Here adoption is frowned on and they think that heredity is stronger than the environment and that Olsen's girls could become prostitutes later in life.  Here couples who are childless usually remain that way.

 Sharon and Randy

Native American children adopted by Ardys and Andy Olsen

Our house was sprayed by government employees for the first time.  It is to kill a bug that looks something like a cockroach and transmits a disease called chagas disease.  It affects the heart and a person lives to 2 to 3 years after he is bitten.  This is common in Northern Brazil, but I haven't seen the bug here.

Helen has already had the typhoid vaccine.   Ardys Olsen brought oral vaccines from Sao Paulo.  There were many cases of typhoid in Paranavai- 3 cases here and 2 deaths.  Helen just had her firs polio shot- there is an oral one here, too.  The 4i n 1 shot is hard to get here but the doctor says that if it is given, the whooping cough vaccine isn't as strong.  And since many children have whooping cough here I am going to give the 3 in 1.

Same technique Dad was using.

We have some 4-H books that a friend of mine sent.  She is working for the State of Oregon and was a college roommate.   Joey made a beautiful design from the cover of two cans and in the center put a picture of himself, Rachel and Charles.  The lid is cut into many sections and then with pliers he curled the strips and bent some in other directions.  He also made bells and plans to make angels.


Rachel and Charles talk about Auntie Marian all the time- saying Auntie Marian gave me this or that.  I don't know if you will be able to stand them for very long- they are such live wires- both extroverts and talk continuously.  I told Rachel I wished she was a radio so that I could shut her off sometimes.  You will be anxiously waiting to have Lisa start talking but when they come to the question age it is hard on one's patience.

 Charles and Rachel with Bobby

We are having a heat spell.  I'm glad we don't have water shortages as some of our neighbors do.  Poor Helen has had a cold for a week.  It is windy in the morning but hot and stuffy in the afternoon and evening.  It is hard to get into the Christmas mood.

Our children are always so dirty and clothes soon get holes in them from scrubbing.  I'm looking forward to seeing them clean.

Love,

Donna and Joey

Letter to Marian and Frank, October 24, 1966

 In our front yard, Loanda, 1966.

My Aunt Marian kept many of the letters my mother, Donna Biel, wrote to her.  She returned them in 2010.  Most are recorded here.

Dear Marian and Frank-

Here I thought we were getting news of the arrival of your little one.  It is good to hear tht you have been feeling fine.

It's apparent you didn't get the letter I wrote answering your questions.  I sent it a few days before we got a letter from you saying you had changed your address, but I had hoped it would be forwarded to you.  I wrote that you shouldn't send us anything unless you want to send more candy.  For one thing, custom duty is too high and we will be ready to go on furlough by the time it gets to us.  We don't want to get new clothes until we are in the U.s. for we are limited to certain weight on the plane.  We have given a lot of old clothes away to the poor.  There is a possibility that we may be home before July- we will know at a conference in January.  It is certain that this station will be closed so we could go in February but Joey has to teach 2 weeks in Bible School in Cianorte which starts in March so we may be here until April or July.  The reason I think we may go home early is that next year there will be nine families to go and some will have to go earlier than others to spread out mission expense and not to leave so many churches vacant.  So who knows?  We may see you before you go to Europe.

In the other letter, I wrote that I had read "Bloody Morning" and enjoyed it.  It tells about the Hungarian revolution.  Last night we heard that it was the 10th Anniversary since the revolution started.  We think the embroidered things that you sent are lovely.  Someday I would like to hear of Frank's experiences when he left Hungary.

In the other letter I had thanked you for the presents you sent.  Charles likes to bang on things with his plastic hammer.  Today Joey was working on his car.  Charles took some of Joey's tools and was banging on his tricycle (my car, he says).  Rachel is forever taking some of Helen's clothes to put on the doll you gave her.  I gave her booties, a cap, and a couple things that are too small for Helen to use.  The necktie you sent is about the only one Joey uses and I use the half slip all the time.

This month has been lonely for Joey has been traveling.  He was gone one week to Umuarama, where special services were held in a tent.  Joey was the technician, so to speak, for he used his motor to show films as the town doesn't have any lights.  The following week he was here and Andy Olsen from Paranavai was special speaker at services held here.  Beautiful films that came from the U.S. in August were shown every night.  Films were shown outside and attendance was good bus, as usual, hardly any new ones come to services that are held regularly.  Last week, Joey and Andy went to a town 2 hours from Paranavai for the same film and service campaign.  It is a German community which Andy serves.  Tomorrow Andy comes here and they go for four days to a town one hour from here.  They both serve this German church but many members are spiritually dead so they are praying for a revival.  All of this has left Joey with slight liver trouple and upset stomach, but after a day of rest he is better.  Charles was so thrilled to see Joey the first week after he was gone that he couldn't say anything but laughed and laughed.

 Loanda, 1966 with Bobby

Our dog had a cut on a a leg that got inflamed with bugs.  Joey put medicine on it twice and that apparently killed the bugs for after a week of hardly eating anything and staying in the hole under our tool shed, Bobby now is barking as usual.

Rachel is super active and always into something.  One day she dumped out my perfume and filled the bottle with water to use in her playhouse.  She and Charles fight from morning until night.  If Helen turns out to be like them, I will be grey soon.  People can't believe Rachel is four because she is the size of three 8 year old girls on this street.  She weighs 46 lbs. and Charles is a chunk, too- weighing 35 lbs.

Helen at 2 months weighed 13 lbs 4 ozs.  Quite a fattie!  Besides breast feeding, she has cereal twice a day and sometimes a banana.  It is quite a chore to make baby food as there isn't anything available except in large cities and then it is only soup or bananas.  She doesn't have a tummy ache much anymore.  Since 3 weeks old she has been smiling and now laughs out loud.  Rachel likes to hold her and Charles gets upset if I let her cry for more than a minute.  He calls her "my baby" and refers to her as "he".

Are you going to breast feed?  It is nice that one can eat a lot and not gain weight.  I am at my normal weight now.  The biggest disadvantage is that whenever I go out for any length of time I have to take her along to feed her but it is nice not to have bottles to wash and prepare.

One hears such sad stories.  A young woman who had eight children (one every year) discovered she was pregnant again.  The baby is 4 months old.  This lady put a stick up inter her uterus to try to have an abortion.  A piece of the stick broke off and lodged there.  She died of tetanus.  Many babies die of tetanus because the mid-wife or whoever delivers the baby don't tie the cord with an antiseptic string.  As yet there aren't any planned parent clinics.  The middle and upper class use pills.

The doctor, who is good and very nice, was with me most of the time I was in the delivery room.  He took fetal heart tones just four times in nine hours before delivery.  The "nurses" here aren't trained to do much but they are good at giving shots.  Blood pressure was never checked nor flow of blood (except right after delivery I was given a shot for hemorrhage) and on the second day when I told the doctor I was passing large clots he took my blood pressure.  Blood flow didn't stop until two months- with Rachel and Charles it was three weeks.

Love, Donna

Notes along the side of the letter:

We are getting excited about going on furlough soon.  Rachel is anxious to go to kindergarten.  The children want to ride on a tractor with Grandpa and think it is great there are many farms to visit.

Louie Biel

We were surprised that Louie has already joined the Catholic church.  If only he could see how corrupt that church is here and pagan like with their processions.  Rarely does one meet a Catholic who reads the Bible or who knows anything about what it in the Bible.

Letter to Marian and Frank, February 15, 1970

 Mom Holding Helen

My Aunt Marian kept many of the letters my mother, Donna Biel, wrote to her.  She recently returned them.  The most interesting parts are recorded here.

Dear Marian and Frank,

We got your lovely Valentine cards and letter three days ago.  The children were delighted to get the cards and Rachel read and understood all her letter.

I had planned to write you the day your letter came, but then a lady came to our house at 7Pm  from our congregation who has been in a mental hospital many times.  She was hysterical and I listened to her until Joey came at 10:30.  He is gone most evenings during Lent to different points in our parish.  This lady stayed overnight.  I listened to her for two more hours while Joey talked to the family.  The 18 year old daughter had a fight with this lady and bit her, pulled her hair plus kicked her.  The family wanted her to stay with us for a few days but she decided to face the music and go home.  I would have been a nervous wreck if she stayed as Joey is gone today and yesterday was coming home at night.  I feel sorry for for this family for the lady said she wouldn't stay anymore but go back to her father but she has a 9 year old son to think of.  The daughter needs psychiatric care, too.  Anyway, after this I felt I needed to relax.

I have a Reader's Digest Condensed stories book and enjoyed "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck.  We got a book from the States- a paperback which we enjoyed very much.  It is called "Smuggler for God" by Brother Andrew.  A Dutchman who with his co-laborers is smuggling Bibles into communist countries and as yet, haven't been caught.  Only in Albania and China were the people not interested in Bibles.  He has been to Cuba and planned to go to North Vietnam and North Korea.  He ends the book by saying all may be ambassadors of Christ when they travel abroad by carrying New Testaments of that country and leaving it somewhere as someone would want it but yet, I think this could be dangerous.

We hadn't heard-  Are you planning on going to Hungary this year?  You didn't mention if you work 5 days a week and what hours?  5 to 11 pm?

We hadn't realized that you were doing repair work on the house or that Louie was doing it.  I'm sure you are enjoying being in your own house and being able to do to it whatever you like to do.

I'm going to try to get a map sent to you this week.  They aren't expensive so consider it a present.  I think I will send a map to the other brothers and sisters and perhaps they will be more interested in writing.  ...

Does Lisa go to private or public nursery school?  Here they have to be 3.5 years.  I think Helen will go when she is 4.  She went for two weeks in November but didn't listen much.  We pay $5 a month for the school.  There is a nearby public nursery but it is small and hasn't any openings.  Helen seems to get into everything.  I have to put my purse up high as she took money out twice and bought ice cream.  She came back with change but I don't know if it was right as I didn't know how much she took.  We have ice cream carts, cotton candy, and colored ice carts going by the house all day. A couple of days ago one of her friends cut off a big chunk of her hair- now she will have to use pixie hair style.

You asked about Valentine's Day.  It is celebrated here in June, however, they don't have cards like we do to give on that day.

Tuesday Rachel starts back to school after two months of summer vacation.  She has been living at the neighbors house, a Japanese girl and has been disobedient- not coming home after we call her several times so she has to stay home for a week.  Yesterday we went to a good circus here.  I told Rachel not to take her doll along but she hid it and took it along- then when the circus was over, she forgot it and it was stolen when we went back.  Now she has to wait until Christmas before we buy her another one.  She says she will listen to me now but I wonder.

 Rachel learning how to ride a bike.

Charles enjoys the bike he got for Christmas.  At times, Joey goes riding with him on his bike.  Rachel has tried to ride it but can't yet.  She is good at swimming and Charles is afraid of the water which goes past his waist.  Charles is soon going to start kindergarten with me.  He knows how to print many letters but doesn't know the name of the letters.  In August, he will start first grade at the small mission school.

We had some sweltering weather 96-98 degrees every day but lately it has been raining and pleasant, in the low 80's.

When we get the books you sent, we will let you know.  We found some books for Rachel in English at a a Christian bookstore in Campinas.  We have sent for Child Craft Encyclopedia and when they come we will get a bookcase set up in their bedroom.  One book we got for us at that bookstore which was published in England is "War of the Worlds" by Aldus Huxley.  amazing when you think he wrote it before people were using automobiles.

Feb 17th

I got 3 maps sent today to your address.  One is for Cynthia and Nels and the other for Louie and Rosie.  I sent them by ship which takes 2 to 3 months.  The maps are huge and it will show you how large Brazil is.  More maps.................  (a page must be lost...)

Letter to Marian and Frank, March 23, 1969

 Mom, Charles, Rachel, Velvet and Helen

Dear Santa,

Your presents arrived safely and we thank you very much.  We paid just $.50 duty on it.  the children were thrilled to get the package.  I just finished reading the book you sent and enjoyed it.  I often saw Orthodox Jews in New York.  I learned a lot from the book and thought if only we as Christians would spend that much time studying the Bible!  It was very impressive to see how much time and effort they put into study of their holy books, however, I can't imagine the Jew of today doing as much.  Joey hasn't had time to read it yet as it came 2 days ago.

Last Tuesday Helen started vomiting in the morning but didn't vomit until night time, but then I called a doctor as I was worried of dehydration.  We are having another heat spell- 92 to 94 every day, very dry, and terribly dirty.  The doctor said she had pus on her tonsils.  I gave her 2 shots and other medications.  She is fine now but we can't get her to eat so I'm giving her Vitamin C orally.  She had worms and took medicine for that.  In all, she has lost about 2 pounds - her face and abdomen aren't so chubby anymore.  She likes to go around singing, "I'm a little flower of Jesus, open your mouth to sing and close your eyes to pray."  She dearly loves the 4 cats we have now- acquired most of them this last month.

Charles is busy getting into everything imaginable.  He is terribly stubborn.

Rachel enjoys the Brazilian school from 8 to 11:30 the from 1to 3 she studies with me.  In 2 more months we will be done with her correspondence course then in August she will go to the American school.

 Mom home schooling Rachel.

A lady in our church teaches sewing.  I told her starting in July that I would like to study sewing.  It would be 2 hours every day- hopefully I wouldn't have to go more than 2 to 3 months.  I hope to make some shorts on my own but I need more practice.

 Mom sewing.

For a week after carnival I was without a maid as she ran away with the husband of the lady who cleaned the church on Saturdays.  They were neighbors.  A neighbor lost her maid during carnival when she ran away with her boyfriend.  Now I have a married lady who for $20 a month works 7:30 to 4:30 or 5:00.  She lives far away so if we want to go out at night (which is very seldom as Joey has most meetings or church services at night) then a girl from our church will come.

Today I took the children to see "Uncle Tom's Cabin".  It was over their heads but I tried to explain some of it to Rachel.  Joey just got back from church services out of town- 9:30 PM and decided to go to the movie- first one we have gone to in about 4 months.

We just got a letter from Harvey.  He says Frank has been traveling a lot.  Sounds like there will be quite a flood this year.  When we were home there wasn't hardly any snow.

Starting tomorrow a 23 yr old Brazilian lad will start to live with us for 1.5 months while he awaits his papers to go to Germany for a year.  He is not of German descent but has spent one year in the States and now wants to go to Germany.  He is from our church in Londrina and his sister teaches English here in this city.  They both speak English very well as she lived in Londrina with some of our school teachers.

Love,

Donna and Joey

 Donna Biel

Letter to Marian and Frank, December 9, 1968

Donna reading to Rachel, 1962

My Aunt Marian kept many of the letters my mother, Donna Biel, wrote to her.  She recently returned them.  The most interesting parts are recorded here.

Dear Marian and Frank,

We got your letter today soon after I mailed one to you.

We want to help pay for the consul stereo form Mary and Harvey.  You certainly got a lovely present for a lovely price.  ...  buy records with the money we are sending.  We leave it to your judgment.

If you wish to send anything, don't send toys as we have to pay import.  I'm sure Rachel and Charles would like books and Rachel could use them as library books or I can read to them.  There will be no import duty on books.  Send them by boat so you won't have to pay much postage- it will take about 2 months to 3 months.

Joey doesn't have time to answer your questions as he is off to Londrina to a 2 day meeting.  He is still working on Christmas to be sent to our church in Ohio.  Needless to say, it won't get done by Christmas.

Thanks for sending different stamps on your envelope.  Several friends save stamps.

...  I'm sure you will be disappointed to know that Joey sold his accordion a long time ago.  I know I wrote your folks but thought I had told you, too.  He decided he wouldn't have time to take lessons.  He sold it here for what he paid for it.  I thought he should at least wait awhile and try to learn it.  I know how you must feel after going to all the trouble to get it for him.

I'm wondering if Mary will have Christmas off from the hospital.  If she has to work it will seem strange for Harvey and all the children.

Dad with Bobby and Velvet.   

Velvet is the one on the left who had the puppies.

Everyone is enjoying the puppies.  They get held so much that I hope it doesn't hurt them.  Helen gets nervous when the puppies cry and tries to get Velvet to come upstairs and when she won't  the children bring the puppies downstairs.  They are trying to learn to walk.  Three Sunday School teachers have asked for the males but no one wants the female.

I best get the rest of my letters done.

Love,

Donna and Joey

Letter from Donna, , Minneota, Monday, January 1968

Donna with Helen, Marian with Lisa, Rachel

Winter 1968

My Aunt Marian kept many of the letters my mother, Donna Biel, wrote to her.  She returned them in 2010.  The most interesting parts are recorded here.

Dear Marian and Frank,

Thanks for the birthday cards. ...  

It certainly was good to hear Louie's voice Friday.  Saturday Joey left for the Moorehead area where he will be until Friday and when he gets back we are going to see Louie at Mary and Harvey's.  Rachel is getting excited about the wedding.  We didn't say much in case they decided to wait awhile.

...  After the wedding we want to stay one night with you and one at Cynthia's, then we will go back to Mary and Harvey's and fly from Minneapolis ...  We decided it was best to leave from Mpls. as it will give us more time to visit Julia, Stan's and your folks.  We only saw Julia's on Christmas day and now we won't see them as they have chicken pox.

We have a nice stroller that we are wondering if you want to use, if not maybe Cynthia can use it.  You can take Lisa on long strolls.  Its seat can be put in three positions- straight up, partly back or lying down position.  It has a basket in back for diaper bag or groceries and top on it for shade.  We will bring it down when we go for the wedding.  

I was glad to see our barrels go on Saturday.  A trucking firm from Marshall got them and they will go to New York.

 Rachel is kept aware of the world news.  The other night she said she couldn't sleep thinking of the bombs that fell in the water and the ship in Korea.  Thursday will be her last day of school.  When Helen sees a bus in a book she says "Rachel".

We haven't had the flu but Helen and Charles had mattery eyes and colds and Joey has a cold.  The reason, I now find out, that my sister, Nyla, was crabby on Christmas Eve Day was that she had the flu and was sick all the week she was here.

Helen now gets out of the crib by herself.  She is quite a clown.  She put on Rachel's coat and said, "Hi, Rachel" so we all called her Rachel and she giggled.

My family is having a family reunion for us on the 11th.  We will leave her the 15th and be in De Witt the 16th for rehearsal.  The 5th we will be at Harvey's and on the 6th we go to the Cities as on the 7th the children have their last dental appointment.  The have had their teeth covered with a fluoride coating and I am going to have it done, too.

We are giving our TV. to Rosie and Louie for their wedding gift.  We are taking it this weekend as we won't have room when we take our suticases.  The T.V. is a floor model.

All for now.  It won't be long and we will be in your neighborhood.

Love, 

Donna and Joey

Little China Girl

I just want to squeeze her! (In a nice way...)
-Rachel